Social dialogue and EMU in the candidate countries : Estonia, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovenia

'This report examines the present situation and future challenges regarding social dialogue in five candidate countries in the run-up to EU membership and Economic and Monetary Union. It is based on joint research carried out by the Foundation in cooperation with the Swedish Work Life and EU Enlargement project. The first phase covers the following countries: Estonia, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovenia. The report describes the national development projects currently in operation in these countries, touching on the political and economic implications arising from the bid to fulfil the Maastricht criteria. Then it presents the five national reports, showing each country’s strategy for supporting the convergence process towards EMU by means of social dialogue. The overall aim of the project is is to show how social dialogue can be harnessed to generate economic growth in conjunction with employment and social protection in the candidate countries.